From the vault

I haven't had a chance to pick up my camera since Kiawah, but I have a few pictures that never made their way to the blog. Here is Ryan enjoying the sand and water table that he got for Easter...

A great gift

Ryan was the recipient of an incredible gift from our relatives in Michigan. It is an authentic accordian that Uncle Donnie has played for years. Definitely a family treasure. Add it to the list of music lessons that Ryan will be taking in a couple years...

More Kiawah

Because I really miss being on vacation, I decided to post some more of the pictures....

A few more of the boy....





And a few of what the island had to offer...

Kiawah Island Vacation

Wow, I am not sure how to pack a week's vacation into a blog post, but i'll give it a shot.

We survived two 10 hour drives, sharing a room with Ryan again, and a small bed - but all of it was completely worth it. It was our first real family vacation - just the three of us. I had nothing on my agenda accept being a dad for the whole time and it was wonderful. On the way down, Ryan had his first visit to McDonald's. The play yard was a bigger hit than the food. Once at Kiawah he had his first real swim in the ocean and first ice cream cone.

The island is amazing. Tons of wildlife and room to run. We saw countless lizards, a couple baby deer, a few alligators and tons of different birds. We also saw a snake on the beach. Ryan didn't even notice it until he stepped on it :) Snake and child both got away unharmed.

I had a great time taking pictures of Ryan, the island, the wildlife. But my favorite part of the trip was just leaving the camera behind for a while and spending time with the family - playing in the ocean, at the pool, in the park...

To get the best feel for the trip check out all the pics on smugmug - the Travel gallery has the animals, the Children gallery has Ryan....here are some of my favorites...

Happy Mothers' Day

Happy Motherss Day to my beautiful wife, my wonderful mother and all the other mom's who read the blog!!

Greetings from Kiawah!!

21 Months and a vacation

OK, i am a day late posting these and none were taken on the 7th. Sorry about that. The ones with the icing were taken on lisa's birthday, and the last one was taken today.

Ryan is an amazing toddler. He walks up and down the stairs by himself with ease. The vocabulary is exploding and he still has that incredible personality all his own. He'll be two before we know it.




We drove down to south carolina today and have kicked off a relaxing week on kiawah island. i am please to report that Ryan is in love with the ocean. We took him to the beach after dinner and had to drag him away literally kicking and screaming...in honor of my return to performing with an orchestra last week, he is Ryan, conducting the ocean...

Happy Birthday, Lisa!!!

OK, I know that i am using last year's birthday pictures - i am very very sorry. Too much travel will do that to you. But, it is a fun way to see how far ryan has come in a year.

Happy 30th Lisa/Mommy. You are a wonderful wife, an amazing mother and my best friend. ryan and i both love you very much.

Tumbling

Catherine's party was at the local JW Tumbles. Although Ryan and Anna were the only little kids there he showed no fear and was running around with the rest of them...

Here is a great group hug with the cousins. Ryan has a very strong connection to them. Especially Catherine. He would not stop hugging her. The three of them all walked out together holding hands. It was awesome.

Ryan patiently waited his turn to pop one of the huge bubbles at the end of the party...

Sometimes i think this is the only way i can get myself into a picture....

Happy Birthday Girls

The blog has been quiet because I have been stuck in hotel rooms without internet access. So let's catch up. Ryan is such an adventurous little guy. His vocabulary is growing all the time as his will power and stubbornness :) He is walking down stairs by himself - without holding a railing. Definitely terrifying for a first time parent.

A couple weeks ago, Ryan's cousins Anna (2) and Catherine (7) celebrated their birthdays. We had a great time with both of them and are looking forward to more of these events over the years.

Here he is sneaking up on Grandma to "bonk" her....

Nothing like bubbles outside on a warm day.